Officials: Ex-Fraser teacher tricked teens into taking sexual photos

Gregory Austin, 33, of Chesterfield Township, is a former band instructor and classroom teacher charged with federal child pornography violations. He is said to have fabricated an online identity as a woman to persuade minors to photograph their genitals and provide him with the pictures, according to court documents.

A former band instructor and classroom teacher charged with federal child pornography violations fabricated an online identity as a woman to persuade minors to photograph their genitals and provide him with the pictures, according to court documents.

Gregory Austin, 33, of Chesterfield Township, has entered a guilty plea to the charges in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan and will be sentenced in May, court records show.

Federal investigators say Austin, who was fired from his job with Fraser Public Schools after being arrested on state drug and federal child pornography charges, had 133 images of children -- male and female -- engaged in sexual behavior stored on his cellphone. The minors included at least 12 current or former students.

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The minors ranged in ages from 14 to 17.

During a subsequent investigation, investigators learned how Austin was able to trick the teens into taking "self pictures" of themselves standing in front of mirror with their cellphones and sending him the images.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Roth spelled out the process in documents recently filed in federal court. The information was based on evidence collected from the defendant's phone and home that police collected using three search warrants obtained after Austin's arrest this past March.

Austin created an online persona through Facebook of a beautiful young woman named Julie. The Facebook page contained sensual pictures of "Julie."

"Under the pretense of being Julie, (Austin) convinced numerous minor boys, including former students, to photograph their genital and pubic areas and send the images to 'Julie.' (Austin) used his cellular phone to communicate with the minors through Facebook and text messages," Roth wrote in court papers.

The use of a fake persona is known as "catfishing," a term that has become a phenomenon in popular culture due to a documentary that has been turned into an MTV show and the recent story of Notre Dame football star Manti Te'o.

The 2010 documentary "Catfish" centered on an online romance that turned out to be based on a phony identity. The creators of the film then developed a spinoff reality show for MTV that is titled "Catfish." Episodes explore people involved in virtual romantic or emotional relationships with people who have created fictitious identities.

The term gained further notoriety after celebrated collegiate football star Manti Te'o claimed to have fallen for a girl he never met but had an online relationship with before she "died" from leukemia. An acquaintance of Te'o later confessed to coming up with the hoax. Media reports swirled about Te'o being "catfished."

Austin was first arrested in March 2012 for purchasing Vicodin from a another man in the parking lot of Eisenhower Elementary School in Fraser, where his wife was employed as a teacher.

The Roseville Police Department's special investigation division was conducting a surveillance of parking lots of party stores at the intersection of Masonic Boulevard and Kelly Road due to reports of drug dealing when Detective Sgt. Brian Shock observed Austin pull into a 7-Eleven, court records show. Shock watched Austin, who parked away from the door, appear to make and receive cellphone calls before another man pulled up and the two had a conversation through their open car windows.

Law enforcement records state the two then drove to the school parking lot where Austin got out of his car and sat in the other man's car. Police say they observed a hand-to-hand transaction of suspected drugs.

At that point, Roseville officers notified Fraser Public Safety officials and Officer Jason Poole arrived in a marked motorcycle. Poole and Shock approached the car and arrested the men.

Austin later admitted to police that he periodically purchased bottles of 30 Vicodin pills in a bottle for $100 from the second man.

During their investigation into the narcotics, the officers found images of youngsters involved in sexual poses on Austin's cellphone. That information was turned over to the FBI's Southeast Michigan Crimes Against Children Task Force, which worked with local law enforcers and school officials to identify the minors in the photos.

Austin, who was first hired in Fraser as a band instructor in 2005 and became a teacher in 2008, challenged the evidence obtained by police and filed a motion to suppress it. Federal Judge Arthur Tarnow denied the motion.

Austin was charged with production of child pornography, receipt of child pornography, and possession of child pornography. He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 31.

Fraser Public Schools Superintendent David Richards on Thursday issued a statement saying student safety is the district's "first priority" and noted school officials cooperated fully with federal authorities during the investigation.

"Mr. Austin has not been an employee of the district since the charges were brought against him last year," Richards said in the statement. "This is an unfortunate incident that took place. We have moved forward and will continue to provide our students with an exemplary education."